Enumclaw’s two newest council members are rearing to go, and both have some big plans for the future of their city.

Chris Gruner and Bobby Martinez, elected during the November 2021 election (both ran unopposed), were sworn in during the Jan. 10 council meeting.

“It’s hard not to be optimistic about Enumclaw’s future. The way this community can and has come together, to not only look out for one another, but to grow and become a shining example for other communities, is inspiring to say the least,” Martinez said in his acceptance speech. “That drive and sense of community was, and continues to be, a large part of motivation to join this council.”

“Enumclaw’s foundations are built on faith, family, and community. The last few years have been difficult for everyone, but Enumclaw has moved forward with grace in large part because of the care we show for our neighbors and the commitment to each other,” Gruner said after he was sworn in. “We want safe neighborhoods, opportunity to succeed, and a caring community. These issues will be my lodestar as I work alongside your other elected representatives. I take very seriously the responsibility that comes with making decisions that affect your lives and the future of Enumclaw.”

Gruner has been living in the Enumclaw area for about seven years now; before moving here, he and his family often passed through town on the way to Crystal Mountain to ski or Mount Rainier to hike, and they fell in love with the local community.

“It’s been more than we could have hoped for,” Gruner said in a recent interview.

Prior to his relocation to the Plateau, Gruner was in the Air Force, following the footsteps of his father.

He was in the Air Force “for 11 years and 8 months, but who’s counting?” he joked.

“When you’re young, you want to go be right in the thick of things — I thought being a fighter pilot would put me right in the middle of stuff. And it did,” Gruner continued. “But then at a certain point, you start to realize, maybe, you can have a bigger impact, a different impact” in other ways, like focusing on family and local community.

That’s one of the reasons he decided to run for council.

“We just wanted to take an opportunity to invest back in the town that’s really given us some stability and a great community,” he said.

One of the ways Gruner would like to invest back in Enumclaw is by lending his support for a downtown pavilion, which has been a council issue for several years. The “plan”, insomuch as the council currently has one, is to build the pavilion over the parking lot behind the Arts Alive! and Enumclaw Chamber of Commerce building. (For those who raise the point that a growing city needs parking space, there continues to be plans to turn the field next to the Enumclaw library into a parking lot.)

Gruner said a pavilion would help Enumclaw’s myriad small businesses, which “[reflect] the character of the town”, thrive because the green space would be a “focal point” of downtown and encourage additional traffic and tourism.

More controversial than the pavilion is Gruner’s goal to help bring substance abuse recovery services, even possibly a rehab center, into town.

“I think if we’re going to care for each other in a community, we need to make sure we’re circling around the people that really need help, and making sure that they get it,” he said.

Enumclaw discussed last year the possibility of partnering with the local, not-for-profit, faith-based Redemption Rock Ministries to start a rehab center on the grounds of Anderson Riverview Park. The idea was quickly scrapped after public outcry — some pointed out the site would be too far from basic services like medical aid and law enforcement; others were worried what sort of crime would come to the area; and still more believed the property was intended for public use, and not a private operation.

Gruner said he’s aware that any rehab center proposal will be a polarizing issue for the community, but “Polarizing things can bring people together, too, if you’re doing it for the right reason,” he added. “There’s always difficult situations, things you have to work through, but I think ultimately people have the heart to help their neighbors. And I think this is one of those projects.”

In addition to being involved in city business and enjoying nature, Gruner loves to read everything from historical biographies to novellas like “Notes from Underground” (Fyodor Dostoevsky) and sci-fi favorites like “Foundation” (Issac Asimov).

Martinez spent much of his formative youth years here in Enumclaw before moving away when he turned 21; he returned to raise his family about four years ago.

“When we had my daughter, I decided I wanted to raise her out here,” he said. “My father lives out here, my brother lives out here, all of her cousins are out here, so I decided to move back into town.”

Many locals may already know Martinez and his wife, Liz, through their business, Take Back Your Life LLC (which is also called the Bob & Liz Show). TBYL offers services like fitness classes, jiu jitsu lessons, and piano sessions.

While on council, Martinez said he wants to focus on making sure the city remains transparent and responsive to its constituents.

“In my personal opinion, the council has done a great job since I’ve been back in town. When the position opened up, I wanted to find a way to carry on what they’ve been doing, to an extent,” he continued.

Among some projects Martinez is excited to work on includes taking a deep dive into Enumclaw’s attitude on marijuana.

“I don’t know the capacity in which I can affect this change yet, but I certainly want to look at why Enumclaw has not allowed marijuana dispensaries in town,” he said. “It’s dumbfounding to me.”

In 2012, voters approved Initiative 502, which allowed for the production and sale of marijuana; it took two years for Washington state to come up with a system to do so.

When marijuana dispensary licenses started being passed out by the Liquor and Cannabis Board, the Enumclaw City Council voted in February 2014 to implement a six-month moratorium on any marijuana businesses looking to open in town.

When the moratorium expired, the council voted in September 2014 to do a couple of things, as per the recommendation of the Planning Commission. First, the city defined and included marijuana production, processing, and retail businesses in the municipal land-use matrix, potentially setting up the ability to allow marijuana businesses inside city limits in the future. However, the council also voted to bar all marijuana business from any of Enumclaw’s 14 land-use zones.

The Planning Commission’s recommendation, and the council’s ultimate decision, were almost certainly driven by strong public opposition to marijuana businesses in town.

But now that several years have passed, smoothing out the rough edges of Washington’s marijuana system, Martinez wants to once again gauge the public opinion.

Part of his interest is for revenue reasons.

“I’m not a huge fan of taxes, but it seems like it would at least be an excellent source of tax revenue, and that we can actually affect some positive things in that regard,” Martinez said. “And I don’t see why sending that business elsewhere is smart. I don’t really see the downside.”

It’s unclear how much tax revenue the city would receive if a dispensary opened in Enumclaw. However, on top of any tax revenue, Enumclaw would also likely start receiving portions of the state’s marijuana tax revenue.

According Brian Smith of the LCB, cities that have a marijuana retailer receive a portion of the state’s marijuana tax revenue. How much revenue a city receives is based at least partly on population.

Buckley, with its two pot shops, received more than $100,000 from the state in 2016; $93,000 in 2017; $50,600 in 2018; $50,800 in 2019; $51,600 in 2020; $53,300 in 2021; and is estimated to receive $67,800 this year, for a total of around $467,000 over the last seven years.

In order for Enumclaw to receive similar funds, the city council would have to first zone for a pot shop, and then a retailer would have to open in town. However, Smith said the LCB does not plan to issue any additional marijuana retail licenses to the general public for the foreseeable future, which means a current license holder (with a general “at large” license, versus a city-specific license) would have to relocate to Enumclaw.

Smith added that there is a bill going through the state legislature which, if passed, would allow the LCB to issue “social equity” marijuana licenses, potentially giving Enumclaw an opportunity to attract a retailer.

The other reason Martinez has for championing a local dispensary is his conservative philosophy.

“You have the people willing to sell. You have the people willing to buy. Why is it anybody’s job to stand in the middle of that?” he said. “I’ve heard other council people, in meetings I attended before I was actually on council, advocate for free market principles. Well, this is that in action. It’s time to step up and actually do that, if that’s what you’re advocating.”

When he’s not busy as an elected official or his personal business, Martinez can often be found practicing his photography.

“I’ve been an artist my whole life. It takes a lot of time to sit down and tackle a painting, so photography has been something where I realized I can pick up a camera and go for a drive for an hour and come back with something,” he said.

Many of his recent photos have been of the Enumclaw car cruises that happen monthly during the warmer months. Many of his photos can be found at www.bobandlizshow.com/.

Both Gruner and Martinez said their city email is likely the best way to get them on the horn. You can email Gruner at cgruner@ci.enumclaw.wa.us and Martinez at bmartinez@ci.enumclaw.wa.us.